Background to
Aromatherapy
As
long ago as 4000 BC, the techniques of pressing,
boiling and maceration were being used by
civilizations in the East to obtain fragrant
essences from flowers, leaves, woods, gums and
resins. In the process of maceration, for example,
the raw material would have been placed in warmed
oil or fat and replaced with fresh batches, possibly
as many as 15 times. The pomades and aromatic oils
thus made were used in unguents (ointments) for
anointing kings and holy men and for therapeutic
purposes, cosmetics and perfumes.
The
Egyptians and Babylonians used lavish amounts of
perfumes and perfumed oils. Whilst animal fat was
widely used for the basis of unguents, fatty oils
were also used, extracted by cold-pressing olives
and the seeds of sesame, flax and the castor oil
plant. Trade routes were established, for there was
a lucrative market in spices, perfumes and incense.
Priests are considered to have been the first
retailers of aromatics, dispensing them for perfume
as well as for healing purposes. There was no
distinction between holy perfumes and household
perfumes. Some of the ingredients used then are
still used today: frankincense, myrrh, galbanum (gum
resins), cedarwood, sandalwood, cypress wood,
lavender, camomile, marjoram, oregano, thyme,
cinnamon, coriander, clove, roses, lilies,
cornflower, jasmine and orange blossom.
The
ancient Greeks and Romans also loved scented oils,
unguents and pomades. These were so popular in the
Roman Empire that quite a flourishing industry was
set up. The rose was highly prized and used a great
deal in perfumery, medicine and even in food. Roses
were tossed at the feet of home-coming Roman
conquering armies, and handmaidens strewed rose
petals at feasts. In Nero's palace, on special
occasions, rooms were carpeted several inches deep
in rose petals. The infamous Caligula believed in
the therapeutic properties of aromatic baths to
restore his body, exhausted by sexual excesses.
Julius Caesar, however, did not think much of the
highly perfumed Roman males - he preferred them to
smell of garlic!
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the use of
perfumes and aromatics declined. But during the
Middle Ages, the Arabian scientist, physician and
philosopher Avicenna discovered (or perhaps
rediscovered) the process of distillation for the
extraction of rose oil and other plant essences. In
fact, his method was to be the basis of our modern
distillation processes. Arabian perfumes soon became
famous. The Crusaders brought back aromatics from
the East to Europe, and before long a perfume
industry developed there.
Down the centuries, mankind has relied mainly on
plants for medicines. During the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, the science of chemistry
developed enormously: Drugs began to be created, and
largely supplanted the old herbal medicines though
many modern drugs are still derived from plant
sources (for example digitalis, from foxglove).
During the last 200 years, technological advance in
the production of essential oils has been
considerable, as well as research into their
chemistry. The term 'aroma therapy' was coined in
1937 by a French chemist, R-M Gattefosse. He had
accidentally discovered the effectiveness of
lavender oil on burns while working in a perfumery
laboratory. In a small explosion he burned his hand
and plunged it into the nearest liquid, which
happened to be a bowl of lavender oil. The hand
healed very quickly, with hardly a scar.
Subsequently, after researching into the beneficial
properties of other essential oils, Gattefosse
wrote: 'Doctors and chemists will be surprised at
the range of odiferous substance~ which may be used
medicinally and at the great variety of their
chemical functions. Besides the antiseptic and
antimicrobial properties of which use is currently
made, the essential oils are also antitoxic and
antiviral, they' have a powerful energising effect
and possess an undeniable cicatrising property. In
the future their role will be even greater.'
That prophecy was to be fulfilled. A number of
researchers and pioneers contributed their efforts.
Notable among them was a French physician, Dr Jean
Valnet, who was inspired by the work of Gattefosse.
He used essential oils as antiseptics in the
treatment of wounds in World War Two. He also used
the oils to combat tuberculosis, diabetes, cancer
and other serious illnesses, claiming many
successes. In 1964, Valnet published an important
book on the subject, Aromatherapie.
Aromatherapy was greatly furthered by Marguerite
Maury, an Austrian biochemist and beautician. From
1940 until the time of her death in 1968, she
published two books, lectured on the subject
throughout Europe, and opened aromatherapy centres
in Paris, Switzerland and England. She ran courses
giving information on the use of essential oils,
with emphasis on their rejuvenating and cosmetic
effects. Today we are used to the concept of healing
holistically, taking the whole person into account
and at all levels.
Very early on, Marguerite Maury realised the
importance of prescribing for the individual a
mixture of oils that would restore balance, not just
on the physical level but on the mental and
emotional levels too. She was also the first person
to establish the technique of applying essential
oils, diluted in vegetable oil, by massage.
Over the last 20 years there has been a tremendous
upsurge of interest in the therapeutic uses of
essential oils. Today, aromatherapy is accepted as a
valued branch of complementary medicine and is still
fast-growing in popularity
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